It’s been a tough two years for women. Early in the COVID-19 pandemic, women were hit harder by job losses, leading many to call it a “she-cession”. But as the pandemic worse on we started to see wider impacts too. We saw women on the front line of the crisis response, making up 75% of the workforce in health and social care. Women were taking on more work at home due to school and childcare closures. We saw women feeling more isolated from social network.

We also saw a shadow pandemic – the rise in domestic violence as lockdowns trapped women with abusive partners. These took their toll. After two years, more than 40% of women in Europe were reporting that the pandemic had a major negative impact on their mental health. These cumulative effects are what we call the Great Exhaustion. What about women entrepreneurs and how should local governments deal with the great exhaustion and support women with care responsibilities?